The T-Bomb

“Tariffs can be powerful

corrective tools, if used right.

In the wrong hands, they

can be deadly weapons.”

— Linda Chang

One fine day in New York, Uncle Ben told Peter Parker a.k.a. Spiderman in a hushed voice: “With great power comes great responsibility.” Somehow, a few decades after Marvel Comics gave the world this memorable line, the United States has chosen to ignore Uncle Ben’s advice. The world’s most powerful nation, repeatedly reminding everyone of centuries of US largesse and generosity, has unleashed a war like no other, based on balance sheets and purported red ink, which it has “tolerated for long”. As President Donald J Trump thundered before a rapturous audience, the ‘US Liberation Day’ has arrived and is here to stay. Admittedly, no nation can be faulted for safeguarding the interests of its domestic companies and economy. The United States, with a massive industrial base and consumer-driven market, has long borne the burden of balancing domestic protectionism with global diplomacy.

What is Liberation Day? Well, remove the bells and whistles, orange wigs and larger-than-life rhetoric, L-Day is the onset of trade tariffs designed to even and balance out the global business keel. Tariffs. These are powerful tools to rebalance trade deficits, stimulate local manufacturing and curb practices like dumping and intellectual property theft. Handled right, they can invigorate flagging economies, create jobs, put more disposable income in the hands of the masses, and turn around a nation’s, even a globe’s, economy. But they are sensitive, these tariffs. Wielded without restraint or tact, they cause more damage than good. The one readily-visible reason for reproach in the Trump administration’s moves has been the approach, while explaining and implementing the tariffs. The approach has been cavalier, even confrontational, seemingly using undiplomatic phrases with derision.

Resultantly, an announcement that could have had heart, self-preservation yet global concern, and protectionism laced with all-round emancipation, has been turned incendiary. Most unfortunately, coming from the only superpower, it reeks of theatrical nationalism, not thoughtful policy-outlining.

Power-Drunk Perils

We should observe a moment’s silence as we remember similar nuggets from history. Napoleon Bonaparte launched a ‘Continental System’, which eventually turned out to be a failed trade embargo that turned his allies into his deadliest enemies. One is also reminded of the Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930, which was basically a tariff wall created to protect, but one that ended up worsening the Great Depression. And since I am Indian, let me speak of the British Raj and the greedy ‘Salt Tax’ – designed to raise even more wealth for the occupiers at the expense of the occupied. All that the Salt Tax did was spark off a mass civil disobedience movement in early- and mid-20th Century India, leading up to the ‘Dandi March’ and eventually the ouster of the Britishers from India.

Let’s take another few moments to ponder over what Professor Janet Huang at the Harvard Kennedy School said: “When trade becomes tyranny, unrest follows.”

President Trump’s political and corporate life offers little reassurance to India. He ran casinos that didn’t make money, floated universities that failed, famously alienated business and political partners, and often displayed scant strategic foresight. India, a nation he once lauded as a critical strategic ally, has now felt a sample of his abrasive diplomacy. The extradition of Indian nationals – shackled aboard a US military aircraft – was condemned across civil society. It wasn’t extradition, it was humiliation; it set the tone for a future to be built on condescension, not cooperation and mutual respect.

The reverberations of the tariffs are already being felt by small Indian businesses. Among them is a mid-sized auto components firm in Gurugram run by Anil Gupta. “I have had to lay off 40 per cent of my workforce,” Gupta says. “My product was good. But after tariffs, the US buyer switched to Mexico.”

From Ukraine to Canada

Ukraine too has had a less-than-friendly brush with Trump (ironical, because the US did help Ukraine grandly for three years in the standoff with Russia). There was disdain on display at last month’s White House visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The conversation was one-sided and terse, the visiting head of state was repeatedly reminded that he “had no cards to play”, and there was even a hot-mic comment where viewers could hear a mumbled “He still thinks we’ll save them!”.

Canada, US’ longest cross-border partner and a lynchpin in the North American Free Trade Agreement, wasn’t spared either. Repeated jabs were taken at then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling him “weak and dishonest”. The re-imposition of aluminium tariffs in 2023, according to analysts, “was less about trade balance and more about (flexing) muscle”.

Even the UK, America’s ‘special friend’, found itself on the wrong side. After Brexit, Britain desperately and quickly needed trade allies. The US used this vulnerability to extract concessions in food and pharma exports, while slapping duties on British automotive goods, citing environmental concerns. “They came asking for a handshake and left with a headlock” is how one journalist described the meeting. “This wasn’t a trade negotiation; it was bullying.”

Examined with a cool head, the new tariffs are not isolated policies; they are symptoms of a deeper thought. That itself is intriguing, for America’s global leadership has always been defined by foresight, fairness and responsibility. Today, it is being increasingly determined by swagger and short-term wins. It is a dangerous trend. With global economies already buffeted by climate volatility, war and supply disruptions, trade imbroglios stemming from vanity can be killing.

Power Sans Purpose

Two ground realities come to mind. One, power without purpose is just noise. Two, trade should not be used as a battlefield. Somehow, somewhere, President Donald Trump’s second term has turned into a war – no talks, no treaties, no tact; only tariffs and taunts. Around the world, people in positions of power and influence should have seen this coming. The new US administration assumed office and rolled out its own version of extradition. No one can forget the shackled Indians, the derogatory comments to world leaders, and the omnipresent threat of punitive tariffs, even on allies.

There is a third ground reality, one that has just been outlined. This is all about the tariffs imposed on the rest of the world by the US. Only at his own peril can anyone disregard or underestimate the cost of the new tariffs – while economic, they are also moral, diplomatic and reputational. As an analyst in UK said: “You can win the trade battle and still lose the war of goodwill.”

The US is the world’s largest economy. Is it also the greatest nation? Greatness is never measured by how many people one can get to the table and speak down to. As a young boy, I was told that I should see how many people walk by my side for a long time, through thick and thin. That reminds me of Uncle Ben’s words to Peter. Surely, the White House has heard the same words. But it seems to have cast them aside like a poor joke.

The writer is a veteran journalist and communications specialist. He can be reached on narayanrajeev2006@gmail.com. Views expressed are personal